Conner Prairie wrap up
Ultimately, the whole saga is a shame.It’s a shame that Earlham and the former Conner Prairie board couldn’t come to a consensus on the initial separation between the two.
It’s a shame the board was fired.
It’s a shame that the former board members felt the need for revenge.
It’s a shame they decided to drag Earlham’s name through the mud.
It’s a shame that Attorney General Steve Carter would make many insinuations against Earlham: That it hadn’t followed the law; that it had a conflict of interest; that it had no business running the museum.
It’s a shame that Carter insisted that he was merely protecting employee morale.
It’s a shame that Carter spent, at minimum, $300,000 to come to a conclusion similar to Earlham’s initial plan.
It’s a shame that the Indianapolis-centric view is that people from Richmond couldn’t effectively run Conner Prairie, even though the college helped build it into one of the biggest tourist sites in the state with a $170 million foundation.
It’s a shame that Earlham’s reputation has suffered, wrongly, at the hands of Save the Prairie and the state attorney general.
Perhaps the biggest shame of all is that Eli Lilly wasn’t around to clarify his intent, or to proudly gaze on what Earlham created from his humble charge.
